The trucking has been ticking for a few months now and I finally crawled under there to confirm my theory...passenger manifold leak resulting from a broken lower rear manifold stud. It appears to be only one broken stud, but even with only one broken stud, the manifold has to come out for the fix. I have read many threads in here and other forums as well about the fix. Some say the motor has to be lifted a few inches to get the studs out if they break flush with the head, others say it's not necessary. I am having a hard time believing that the motor DOESN'T have to be lifted with the frame rail placed perfectly in line with the manifold studs...nice job Ford.

I find it hard to believe that if I break a stud off into the head, I would be able to get my drill in there to drill out the old stud. A Ford service tech told me today that he does at least 2 a week and he's never had to move the motor to get ANY manifold stud out, even ones that break off flush with the head. He's back and forth from under the motor and into the wheel well.

Any help would be greatly appreciated with this project. Ford said they charge 5-6hrs labor for this fix...somewhere around $550, not including any parts I need. I understand the manifold may have warped from the broken stud, so a replacement may be necessary. I have read that Ford charges ~$110 for an OEM mani, but I feel that if I am going to replace a factory part, I might as well upgrade, if the price difference is worth it. I found this company on here, LP Parts, that sells these polished SS manifolds for $295:



Are aftermarket manifolds worth it on these trucks? Most of what I've read said no, only long tubes make a difference. If there is really no difference, performance wise, between the OEM and aftermarket manifolds, I'll just stick with OEM and buy SS manifold studs. Isn't that where this problem originates from...the OEM studs rusting and either breaking off or the nuts backing off? Would SS locking manifold studs alleviate the problem with new OEM manifolds and metal gaskets?

I would really like to hear from guys that have done this fix before and could shed some light on this situation. Thanks!

 

Why would you need new manifold? If you think the mating surface has been warped due to the leaking exhaust, you can have it surfaced by a machine shop. I've drilled out probably 4-5 of these broken studs, gotta take your time and expect to break off more studs while removing manifold. good idea is to spray the nuts with PB Blaster, let it sit over night, maybe warm the engine up and then break them loose

 

When you drilled out the studs, what was your procedure? What vehicles were these on? I see you have a '98, but am I to assume you have does this on the 04-08 F150's?

 

just on my Expy... I used the opposite end of a drill bit(rounded part that gets fed into the chuck) and sharpen it to center punch the broken stud. I used a bit because it fits exactly in the hole and center punched the stud perfect. Start off with a tiny drill bit and drill into the stud, just keep going bigger and bigger until there is no more stud. Tapping probably will be required. Also, I did not re-use stud and nuts, I used regular bolts with lockwasher.

my work space

 

I had to drop my AC Compressor to get to one of the studs

 

It looks like there's more room in the Expy than my F150...am I seeing that correctly? They don't use the same frame for the two vehicles, do they? It's difficult to see in your pictures, but your frame rail doesn't appear to be in the same location compared to the engine to that of my truck.

 

What's the advantage with bolts and lockwashers over studs and nuts? Did you use stainless?

 

yes stainless.

 

I'm getting a little closer on this project. The dealer quoted $2.38 for each stud and $1.75 for each nut, also said that 2 gaskets are required at $7.69/ea. I forgot to ask, how many studs are on each manifold, 8 or 10? Some places when you buy a set of studs, they come in 8, 10 or even 16(which leads me to believe there are 8 per side). I thought I only counted 8 when I was under there, but I could be mistaken.

Is the dealer the best place to get the studs?